New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin will be away from the club indefinitely in the wake of a "fabricated story" against him from Russia, the team announced Monday.
In the piece, there's a claim that Panarin "beat up" an 18-year-old girl in a Russian bar in 2011, according to the New York Post's Larry Brooks.
"Artemi vehemently and unequivocally denies any and all allegations in this fabricated story," the Rangers said in a statement. "This is clearly an intimidation tactic being used against him for being outspoken on recent political events.
"Artemi is obviously shaken and concerned and will take some time away from the team. The Rangers fully support Artemi and will work with him to identify the source of these unfounded allegations."
Panarin has publicly criticized the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin. In January, the 29-year-old showed his support for opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a post captioned "freedom for Navalny" in Russian.
The 5-foot-11 winger ranked third in league scoring with 95 points over 69 games last season, finishing third in Hart Trophy voting.
Panarin has tallied five goals and a team-best 18 points over 14 contests this campaign.
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